The Dance: A Rewrite
by Ky'atia
Summary: A FredGeorge twincest oneshot. The twins are hiding their feelings for each other until they are assigned to dance together in a contest! Now, how do they tell not only each other, but the rest of the world? A REWRITE!


The Dance: A Rewrite

_Beta Version_

A/N: I have been in a state of hibernation for a long while and I apologize for that. My writing muse left me but now I am happy to say that she's returned and the stories will go on as usual. To begin, though, I would like to add this rewrite of my most popular story, "The Dance." I am rewriting this to tighten up the story, add a little more depth to the plot (though this was never meant to be a deep story), add better descriptions, and balance out the scenes more. If you'd prefer to stay with the original version, that is perfectly okay. Only a little plot altering material will be added; however, some text will be included to discuss the Fred/Oliver past relationship, and there is more snogging, which I know we all love. I hope you all enjoy this rewrite. For those of you who are old fans of "The Dance," please let me know how this compares with the old one. Thank you all very much!

_And special thanks to my beta reader, Staci._

**oOoOoOo**

"What do you mean? I... I can _not_ be partnered with him! Professor, this is out of the question!"

"Mr Weasley, there weren't enough girls that signed up for the contest. We had no choice but to pair you with him. He is your brother, after all, so we didn't think it would be too awkward for you," McGonagall explained.

"He is my _twin_, professor. Don't you think it would be even weirder for us? It is practically... _incest _or something!"

"Don't be ridiculous, George. It's not as if we are asking you to sleep with him!" the professor replied, beginning to lose her patience. "Now, both of you signed up for the contest, and both of you will compete! We aren't asking you to be in love with each other!"

George shifted uncomfortably. That was certainly not something he was going to be discussing with McGonagall. He had decided long ago to hide those feelings away. It just was not fair to force the knowledge on Fred that his twin was in love with him.

"Of course not. I'm sorry for my behaviour, Professor."

McGonagall was taken aback at his response. She'd _never_ heard one of the Weasley twins speak to a teacher like that.

"Well... good. Then there should be no further problems then. Practice commences promptly at 6:30 tonight in the dance hall on the third floor. I expect you both to be there," she said, stalking off to hunt down the other contestants.

"Bloody hell... why me and Fred?"

**oOoOoOo**

Fred paced back and forth across his and George's dorm room floor, paying little attention to the enormous posters of Quidditch or the grandiose tapestries adorning the walls. George had left some time ago to find out with whom they would be dancing. Fred was hoping to get a certain person who he recently realized his feelings for. It scared the hell out of him when he'd first figured out that he was in love with George, but now the redhead had been alone for so long that he was desperate to tell him. He'd been so lonely ever since Oliver had -- well... best not to worry about that. Anyway, he needed to get this off his chest. Of course he was worried about rejection, but the possible benefits unquestionably outweighed the risks.

A part of him did feel like he was abandoning Oliver, but Fred had already been waiting for two years. He couldn't wait any longer! Surely Oliver would understand if he ever returned (which Fred doubted more and more all the time). Fred had adored their relationship, but they weren't able to stay together, and it had broken his heart. Now, though, he'd been able to recover from their separation enough to turn his affections elsewhere. The redhead would do anything to know if George felt the same way or not, but he had no idea as to how he should go about finding out. The train of thought was swiftly derailed when George entered the room, frowning at a bit of parchment in his hand.

"Can you believe it, mate? We got partnered with each other! What were they thinking?" George shouted, trying to keep up a good pretence of anger.

"Oh come on, it isn't that bad," Fred replied, fighting back the urge to smile.

"Honestly! I told McGonagall that it was like incest or something, but--"

"Get off it!" Fred interrupted, laughing at his brother. "It isn't like they were asking us to sleep together or something!"

"McGonagall said that exact same thing!"

"Yeah, so? She's right. We're just dancing, George. I wouldn't mind dancing with you..."

He looked at Fred, not believing what he'd just heard. Could Fred feel the same way? ...No. Best not to get caught up in false hope.

Catching the look on his brother's face, Fred swiftly added, "Well, I mean, better you than Millicent Bulstrode or some other hag, right?"

He noticed George's face fall. "Of course. You're right," George replied.

Fred didn't know what to make of his brother's response. He saw the look on his face and was quite puzzled by the situation. He knew there was no way that George could feel the same as he did, but at the same time, he clung to the hope that maybe someday things would be different; maybe one day the two of them could be together and he'd never have to spend another night alone, wondering desperately if he would ever be freed from this torture.

George was watching his brother, trying to figure out if Fred had seen the look on his face. By the way thoughts were rushing across his face, George would guess that he had. Now what? What could he say about that? There was no good explanation.

'Maybe it would be better to just get this over with,' he thought. 'No… I can't. It would not be fair to him. I can't force this on him. He could alienate me. That would be worse than living like this. Without him, I don't know what I would do.'

Fred was the one to break the silence, "So, mate, I've been thinking… we need a new way to get out of class. Don't you think so? I mean, all the teachers have heard our excuses. It would be really brilliant if we could somehow get sick for awhile—"

"—then make ourselves better after we left?" George finished.

"Exactly!"

"But how would we do it?" George asked, ever the voice of scepticism.

"I haven't thought about all that yet. It is a new idea. Maybe we could make it like… a pill or something to eat? We could call it 'Skipping Snackbox.' What do you think?"

"'Skipping Snackbox?' Sounds like a candy that makes you skip around while you eat it. No… What about 'Skiving Snacks' instead?"

"Doesn't have a good ring to it. And I liked 'Skipping Snackbox!'" Fred protested, getting rather annoyed.

"Oh, come on, that sounds stupid," George said, jokingly pushing his brother on the arm.

Fred swatted his hand away and shoved George away. He knew that he was being rude, but he didn't care. George was being the same way! Fred had loved the idea and the name. It hurt to have it pushed back in his face by George, especially since he'd finally accepted his feelings for his brother.

George fell to the floor. He angrily pushed himself up and tackled his brother down to the ground. Fred looked up at his brother, glaring daggers at him. George took in the sight of Fred lying under him and, though he was angry, he couldn't help himself… Their eyes came closer together, noses brushed each other and finally, their twin lips met and a shock passed between them. Their eyes widened, but neither broke the kiss. After a moment, they closed their eyes and drifted off into oblivion, with nothing in the world except the two of them.

**oOoOoOo**

Later, with everyone off to Hogsmeade for the evening, they sat alone in the common room. They both wanted to talk about what had happened, but what could they say? Fred sat staring at the fire, a gentle blush across his cheeks. His mind was racing with the events of the day and thoughts of Oliver. He didn't know what to do. He was desperate for companionship after so long, but why with his brother? Could that ever work out? Society would shun them, but surely it would be worth it to finally be happy.

But what if Oliver came back someday? Yes, they both had changed in the years since he had left, but if he returned, what would stop them from loving each other just as much as they had before?

And what about George? Fred knew that he was in love with George. They could live very happily together, and they probably would if he could just get this silly notion about Oliver coming back out of his mind. He had to forget. It was the only way to survive. Oliver was not coming back, and it was high time to face it.

"Fred?" George asked timidly.

"Yes?"

"Is this okay?"

"What do you mean?" Fred asked, knowing full well what he meant.

"The kiss. Is it okay?"

Fred looked his brother in the eye. "I don't know. I want it to be okay, but there is so much to think about. Our friends, our family…"

'_Oliver,'_ he added in his mind.

"Well, I know that, but I meant are _we_ okay?" George asked timidly.

"What you really mean is 'am I angry,' right?"

"Yes."

"No, George. I'm not angry. How could I be?" Fred said, clasping his brother's hands within his own. "I feel the same as you do; I want you just as much. It is so complicated, though."

"I don't care," George said with a rare fervour. "I want you. If someone doesn't like it, then fuck them! I finally have you and I can not …_will _not… let you go. I can't." George's eyes were starting to tear up. "I have waited so long for this to happen and now that it has, how can I just sit by and allow it to be thrown away because of what others think?"

He had a fair point. They'd both wanted this and did it really matter what their friends or family thought? If they really cared about the twins, surely they would understand how much the two needed each other. But chances, unfortunately, were that most of their friends would not accept their love.

"I understand. But do you want to throw all our relationships away? I mean, Mum would disown us and Dad wouldn't be able to speak to us anymore, though I don't think he'd be _as_ angry. Ron wouldn't understand it, so he would probably side with Mum. Charlie and Percy would be against us as well… Bill probably would be our only family member who might even consider being okay with us. And _maybe_ Ginny, unless she decides to do one of her moments where she acts like mother. And what about our friends? Who would really want to be seen with us if we told anyone?"

"Then we keep it a secret! No one has to know. We can be together. I know it. Somehow…"

Fred smiled sadly. "We can't live in a dream world, George. There is no way that we can evade reality forever. Sooner or later, someone will find out. And then what?"

"We'll run away. Far away. Somewhere where no one knows who we are. We can just live together, you and I, in a little house or a flat in the city. Somewhere we've never heard of, and where no one has heard of us… maybe in the Muggle world."

Fred wrapped his arms around his brother and held him tight. "I want to believe that can happen…"

"It can! We can make it happen." George pressed his forehead to his twin's and looked him straight in the eyes. "I love you. I will always love you. And no matter what, I will make sure that we are always together."

Fred felt a tear fall down his cheek. He closed his eyes and pushed his mouth forward to meet George's. They stayed like that for a moment, peacefully exploring one another, tears mingling together, and bodies pressing close until they seemed to melt together.

Fred knew at that moment that there was no turning back. He said a private good-bye to Oliver in his mind and locked his memories away in his heart, now focusing on the one in front of him. When they parted, their eyes met and they smiled together, clasping hands. George stood up, pulling Fred up with him and began to walk towards the dormitories.

"Where are we going?" Fred asked.

George turned around and embraced Fred, blushing. He met Fred's curious gaze and whispered close to his ear, "I am going to make you mine."

**oOoOoOo**

Harry was the first one back from Hogsmeade that day, which was unusual because Ron liked to stay out rather late on their days off. Today, however, Harry was not feeling well, so he left the group and his friends to go rest in the dormitories.

He entered the Common Room and began to take off his scarf and cloak when he heard giggling coming from the bedrooms. He knew that everyone was not expected back for almost three hours more, so he went to make sure that no one had snuck in to start some mischief. What he saw as he pushed the doors open shocked him.

Fred was lying on top of George in his bed, all of their clothes down to their knickers forgotten and thrown onto the floor, with a thick blanket covering them up to their naked torsos. Fred had been smiling down at his twin and had just begun to kiss him again. They pulled their faces apart abruptly and looked over at their intruder, eyes wide in horror.

"H-Harry… umm… wha… what are you doing back so early?" Fred asked, taking George in his arms to help cover him up.

"I was… just wanting to… umm… take a nap," he said stupidly, face bright red at the sight before him. "Why don't I just go find Ron and—"

"No!" both twins said loudly, scaring Harry.

"What we mean is, we don't want anyone else to find out. You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Look, I am not even sure what is going on."

"Harry," Fred said, "It really doesn't take a genius to figure out what is going on. We were shagging." George slapped him.

"Well… I-- I just… Why don't I give you all a chance to get dressed and we can talk in the Common Room in a bit… okay?" Harry said, flying out of the room thoroughly embarrassed.

"Well, that was just brilliant. The whole 'secret relationship' thing sure lasted a long time," George said, thoroughly annoyed at this turn of events.

"Hey, this isn't my fault! No one was supposed to come back for another three hours! How were either of us supposed to know he would come back early?"

"Look, let's calm down. I wasn't trying to blame you. I just hope he doesn't mind keeping his mouth shut…"

**oOoOoOo**

"So you two are lovers now?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

"But, Fred, what about Oliv—" Harry caught sight of the dread in Fred's eyes and swiftly changed the line of thought, "—all of the people who could find out?"

"We are working on that. For now, thought, we'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone," Fred said, mouthing 'thank you' afterwards so George couldn't see.

"No problem there. I am good at keeping secrets. Actually, I think this will be good for you two."

"Really? Why?"

"Well—"

But they would never find out why this would be good for them because at that moment, Harry was interrupted by someone storming into the Common Room.

"Mr. Weasley…s! Why are you still here? Dance practice is getting ready to start!" McGonagall said.

"Shit!" exclaimed George.

"Sorry, Harry. We'll talk later! Gotta go!" Fred said. He grabbed George's hand and dragged him off to the dance practice.

**oOoOoOo**

"_Allo! Je m'appelle Madame Isabelle. Je suis—" _She paused at the confused looks on the students faces. "Aah… you don't speek French. Well, zen we will 'ave to make due with my Engleesh. I am Madame Isabelle, your dance eenstructor. Let's see…. 'ow many couples do we 'ave 'ere? Twelve? Beautiful. Well, let us get started by stating names to get to know one anuzzaire better. Let us start with yoo."

"I am Angelina Johnson and I am in Gryffindor."

"I am—"

Fred and George burst through the door, apologizing profusely and joining the circle the others had formed.

"And 'oo are yoo?"

"Sorry Madame. I am Fred Weasley, and this is George," Fred said, gasping for air.

"And yoo are partnered togezzaire?"

"Yes. There were not enough women who signed up, so we got paired together. It seems a little strange, we know, but we can't change it."

"Hmm… zat is odd. But, no matter; let us continue around the circle."

The twins made the thirteenth couple in the group. They didn't know many of the people who they would be dancing with as there were only two other Gryffindors, Angelina and Dean. Mme. Isabelle made the dance assignments and the twins ended up with the simplest of all dances: the Waltz. She gave them that one because, as she said, as the thirteenth couple, they were sure to have bad luck, so they should have the easiest dance of all to reduce the chances of bad things happening. Fred and George just went along with it, thinking that at that point they could use any luck they could get.

"'Ere is your practice schedule. I expect everyone to be… 'ow yoo say… punctual!" she said with a look at Fred and George. "Everyone will 'ave practice two times per week. If any of these times will present a problem, let me know as soon as possible so we can fix eet. Yoo are all dismissed. I will see you all later in ze week."

**oOoOoOo**

At around midnight that night, George awoke to Fred opening his bed curtains and climbing in. They smiled at one another and shared a brief kiss. Fred lied down next to George and cast a silencing charm on the curtains.

"Good idea," George said softly.

"I know."

"So what brings you here so late, Fred?"

"Just wanted to talk. I think there is something you need to know before we enter in to any kind of relationship with one another."

"What are you talking about?"

"…George, have you ever been in love?" Fred said carefully.

"Well, of course. I am in love," he said, smiling and ruffling his twin's hair.

"I mean before this."

George thought for a moment, his smile falling. "No. Why?"

Fred sighed. "…Because… I… have. …There. I said it. …You know."

George felt his heart sink into his chest. "…W-Who was it?"

"Oliver Wood."

"What? Him? When… and for how long?"

Fred gathered all his strength, willing himself not to cry. "Do you remember in our fifth year when we had a falling out? I ended up riding with him on the train to Hogwarts and we became friends. I had never been with anyone before and we just immediately clicked. I knew quickly that I was in love with him, and he with me. It was a beautiful romance. I -- We… ended up engaged. And on the night before our wedding… he vanished without a trace. He left only a note for me. It was hardly a satisfactory explanation for his disappearance, but he promised me that he would come back. He hasn't… and I decided that I could not wait any more. And then I found you, George. And I knew that I loved you. I no longer am waiting fruitlessly for Oliver to return. I have finally found happiness. And in light of our happiness, I felt that I needed to be honest with you."

George sat in silence for several minutes, taking all of this information in. He never knew anything about this! How could Fred go through so much without him? Did Fred even need him anymore?

"Say something, George. Please. Anything."

"How… how _could_ you? Why did you never tell me?"

"I always wanted to! Believe me. But I knew it would hurt you. I didn't see the point. And after everything happened between us, I knew that I had to tell you. I couldn't bear to keep it from you."

"Go. Please. I need to be alone to think."

Fred nodded silently and began to open the curtains.

"Just one more thing, Fred."

"Anything."

"Did you sleep with him?"

"…Yes. I did."

George felt tears finally stream down his face. He lied down on the bed and began to cry.

"Goodnight, Fred."

"…I love you, George. I am sorry. I never wanted to hurt you—"

"—Goodnight," he said fiercely.

"…Goodnight, George."

**oOoOoOo**

The next morning, they awoke and ate breakfast in silence. George was staring blankly at his pancakes, jabbing at them with a fork, but not really eating anything. It killed Fred to see his brother like that, but it was his own fault. He should have been more open with him from the start. Now, it seemed like a stupid idea to keep everything a secret from him. He only hoped George could forgive him someday.

"George?" Fred asked timidly. George didn't even seem to hear him.

"George? …George, please answer me," Fred said, his voice growing more desperate. George sent him a cold glare, slammed his silverware down and stalked off. Fred rose, nearly knocking over a second year in the process and ran after his brother.

George ran out onto the grounds of Hogwarts, going towards the lake. Tears were falling from his eyes freely. He heard the doors slam open and footsteps following quickly behind him. He turned to face Fred and stared him down.

"What do you want?"

"Forgive me, George! Please. I am sorry for keeping this from you. I just didn't want to hurt you!"

"And lying to me is the way to do it?"

"No! I didn't lie to you… I just… didn't tell you. I know that is not any better… Please. Forgive me. It is in the past now. I can't change what happened. Please don't hold it against me."

"...Fred…"

"George… Please. I can't let you go!" Fred said, sobs escaping his lips as he embraced his twin. "Please, George."

George wrapped his arms around his brother. He knew Fred couldn't change anything, but that didn't stop it from hurting. "Fred… I… I wanted…"

"What?"

"I wanted to be your first." With that, George dissolved in tears, crumpling into Fred and the two fell onto the dewy grass.

"Oh… I know… I am sorry, George. I love you. Please don't hold it against me. If I knew then what I knew now, believe me, I would have been with you. But you remember what happened between us. We barely even spoke that year… all because of that stupid argument." Fred brushed the hair out of his brother's eyes and kissed his forehead. "I was lonely, I needed a companion and there he was. If I had it to do over again, I would save both you and I the pain. I never did anything to cause you pain intentionally. That is the last thing I want. You know that, right?"

George nodded and met Fred's pleading eyes. He couldn't hold this against him. He didn't want to hurt his brother, not for something that happened long ago and couldn't be changed. "I know… I forgive you, Fred. Let's not talk about it any more. Let's go get cleaned up and get to class." Fred helped George up off the grass and they headed back toward the school.

"…Class?" Fred said, taking his words in stride. "Why, my dear brother, I think we deserve a bit of a lie in this morning. We'll just tell them that we were sick today."

"Fred!"

"What? I just meant that we could spend some quality bondage—err, _bonding_ time together," he said with a wicked smile on his face.

"I think we need to rest up more than we need to shag. We have practice tonight for the dance, Quidditch tomorrow, and dance practice the night after that."

"Okay… What if we hurry?"

"Fred!"

"Okay, okay… let's just go lie down and _sleep_."

"…We just had an argument, Fred. I am not really in the mood, okay."

"Sorry, George. I was just trying to lighten up the mood a little. We can go sleep if that is what you want."

"Thank you, Fred."

**oOoOoOo**

The next two months passed by almost unnoticed by the twins. They were wrapped up in their own world with one another, thinking only of dance practice, Quidditch, and the next time they'd have the chance to be alone together. Harry was quite nice about helping them get some alone time by organizing events or inviting people out of the dormitories for a walk around the grounds. Fred and George were very grateful for any time they had alone together, even if it was just for five or ten minutes so they could steal a few kisses before they had to return to the pretence of being normal brothers. One night, they sat alone in the common room. Everyone else had long since gone to sleep, and the fire was barely more than embers.

"Fred… I don't know how much longer I can take this."

"What do you mean?"

"This… Keeping our relationship a secret from everyone. I want to be able to love you and be proud of it. I don't care what everyone else says. I want to have you and I want to stop living this lie. Can't we tell everyone?"

"…I know what you mean, George. I want to be open about our relationship, too… It seems we have to make a choice. We can lead a life of secrecy and keep our other friends and family, but you know we'd eventually get caught. We can tell everyone and risk being disowned, having our friends leave us, and be alone, but we'd at least have each other and be able to express our love freely."

"Well, then, it doesn't sound like much of a decision to me," George said. "I want to be with you. I will risk everything else to be able to be with you openly."

Fred took his brother's hands in his own and looked him square in the face. "All right, George. Then let's do it. The contest is tomorrow; our whole family will be attending along with our friends. If this is what you want, then we can announce it then."

"I want this."

"As you wish. I promise I'll make it special for us," Fred said mysteriously and refused to comment on it any further.

**oOoOoOo**

"All right class, this is what yoo all 'ave trained for. I am sure yoo will dance beautifully. Make me proud!"

Fred clasped George's hand in his own and looked over the mirror image of himself in handsome matching green dress robes trimmed in golden rope. It took his breath away to see his twin, his lover, in such a striking set of robes. He held tight to George's hand as they made their way out onto the floor of the Great Hall. They could both feel inquisitive eyes on them at once, but they had made their decision and would stick with it.

They heard the music start and they took their positions, holding each other closer and tighter than usual. They started the steps and soon they were whizzing around the hall, twirling one another and gliding gracefully across the floor. It was a marvellously flawless dance. They ended the dance in the centre of the Great Hall and held their position until the applause died down somewhat. The two separated and took their bows, still clutching the other's hand. They turned to one another and Fred gazed into his brother's eyes. He lowered his mouth squarely onto his twin's and they shared a congratulatory kiss which earned quite a reaction from the audience. The reaction was one of shock and disgust from a majority of the audience, including their family; Molly and Arthur looked at each other in pure repulsion at what they were witnessing.

The twins didn't seem to notice. When they pulled away from one another, Fred smiled mischievously at his twin and dropped down on one knee in front of him, which earned another round of gasps from the spectators that were once again ignored. Fred reached into his pocket and pulled out a black box containing a handsome golden band adorned with rubies and emeralds. George's eyes grew wide and filled promptly with tears. He smiled down at his brother.

"George… I have loved you my whole life. I want to be with you forever. Will you do me the honour of marrying me?"

"I will."

Fred slipped the ring on his finger and rose to meet his lips. Once they parted, Fred swept George off of his feet and carried him out of the Great Hall and out onto the grounds.

"I love you, Fred."

"And I love you. And I always will, no matter what comes our way, I will love you until the day I die. I promise."


End file.
